


Everybody Wants to Know

by noonaofdarkness



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Hongdae Musicians, Angst, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Romance, barely smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-08-10 03:00:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7827769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noonaofdarkness/pseuds/noonaofdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are a lot of rumors going around about Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol. Some of them might be true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everybody Wants to Know

**Author's Note:**

> Hongdae!Au. Inspired (and title taken from) by Halsey's "Strange Love."

* * *

  
_There’s a rumor going around that Park Chanyeol fucked Baekhyun in the backseat of his Kia last month._

 

_It wasn’t in some shitty Kia_ Baekhyun thinks to himself as me makes his way onto the dingy stage of Club FF. Chanyeol’s legs could barely fit inside an SUV, much less in the back seat of a compact sedan. Second — and most importantly — Park Chanyeol has nothing to do with Baekhyun.

At least, that’s what he tells himself as he strums out the first few chords on his guitar, falling into his set and effectively blocking out the hushed whispers coming from the floor in front of him.

He certainly isn’t thinking of those calloused hands, the cocky grin, the scent of tangerines and nicotine, the fluttering of Chanyeol’s eyelashes, nor the lingering traces of his lips whose ghosts can still be felt along his skin if he lets his mind wander too long.

Park Chanyeol is just the overly-confident frontman of a relatively popular band on the scene: a man known for his growled out moans into the microphone and his equally vocal behavior in bed. And now, somehow, Baekhyun’s name is thrown around alongside the notorious frontman’s.

He doesn’t like it one bit.

Yes, they fucked. Once. Hurried and messily, in a blur of flesh and lust that burned out almost as fast as the cigarette Chanyeol smoked afterwards. They’d rented the room — in some cheap love motel behind Sincheon Station — for the remainder of the morning, but neither lingered in the bed long after the sun rose. They had one last go in the shower before putting on their discarded clothes and parting ways in the early morning sunlight of the empty back street.

And that was that.

(Not that it’s anyone’s business.)

 

Baekhyun can honestly say he isn’t expecting Chanyeol to seek him out again. But sure enough, not ten minutes after he’s cleared the stage is unwinding in the green room, a familiar voice breaks the quiet. (Well, as quiet as a green room in a rock venue can get.)

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an entire acoustic set without a single love song.”

There’s a deep chuckle that blends with the muffled bass poudning through the walls before the couch sinks next to him with added weight.

“I don’t write love songs,” he says without looking up. It’s true. He writes about moments; the warmth of the late summer sun, drunken stumbling through the park, hands daringly slipping under shirts. His songs have the potential of love, but the subject is never breached. There are so many other experiences he wants to capture with his words and melodies. Love songs are too conventional, even if Jongdae tells him he has the perfect voice for swooning refrains.

“Not even for someone you really care about?” Chanyeol challenges once Baekhyun meets his eyes. He’s far enough on from Baekhyun on the couch that they aren’t touching, but Baekhyun can still feel his presence looming over him; he can feel the warmth Chanyeol seems to always radiate creeping through his thin t-shirt and tempting goosebumps along his flesh. It’s infuriating.

The deadpan stare he throws Chanyeol is more than enough of an answer and he quickly collects himself and his beer bottle and makes his way back down the back staircase into the basement venue.

 

 

 

_Jongdae heard from Soojung that Chanyeol and Baekhyun came into Monster Pizza together last Friday._

 

It’s three am and the trains have already stopped running. As much as Baekhyun would love to grab a taxi back to his dorms, he knows there’s no point to it. He’ll have wasted what little spare cash he has to arrive at a locked building. Dorm curfews and weekend gigs don’t overlap well at all. So instead of loitering around campus for hours, he minds his time tucked inside of Angel in Us Coffee, nursing his americano as slowly as possible.

(It’s not likely they’d kick him out if he finishes it anyway, though.)

He knows he should have said no to Jongin’s offer of another drink and a trip over to Gogo’s after the show. Jongin doesn’t have to worry about the trains nor dorm curfews — he can drink and dance the night away without a care since he still lives with his parents. Baekhyun glances down at his cell phone to check the time.

_3:25 am_.

Jongin’s probably already back home, tucked snugly in bed while Baekhyun sits alone, struggling to stay awake in the uncomfortable wooden chair of his two-person table. The god-awful romantic ballads playing through the sound system aren’t helping anything.

The scraping of chair legs across the floor pulls Baekhyun away from his grumpy thoughts of revenge on Jongin. He sleepily glances up from his phone to be greeted by the same smug smile he definitely hasn’t been thinking about over the past few weeks.

“Mind if I join you?” Chanyeol asks after he’s already seated himself across the table from Baekhyun. His elbows rest on the table, arms propped beneath his chin.

Baekhyun can only shrug.

“So what are you doing sitting alone in Angel in Us at this hour?” Chanyeol inquires, making himself comfortable by setting his backpack beneath the table. He looks so much more awake, and _sober_ , than Baekhyun feels.

“Missed the last train,” Baekhyun does his best not to overtly pout, training his eyes on his coffee and not the gleaming look of amusement in Chanyeol’s eyes. “I’m wasting time until they start running again. Everyone knows Angel in Us is only open twenty-four hours for this exact purpose.” He gestures around the coffee shop, at the dozen of other college students face-down in tables, or lazily scrolling their cellphones.

“Why not catch a taxi?” Chanyeol tilts his head. There’s no trace of the teasing smirk from moments before, instead he looks genuinely curious.

Baekhyun takes a sip of his now room-temperature coffee. “And sacrifice what little spare cash I already have? No thank you. Plus, dorms are locked ‘til six.”

“I can keep you company until the trains start running again,” Chanyeol offers.

Baekhyun searches Chanyeol’s face for any sign of a hidden meaning — a twitch of lips of a smug curve of the lips to convey innuendo in the invitation. Instead, he finds an earnest gaze he’s never seen on Chanyeol’s face before; not when he’s on stage, and _certainly_ not during their single night together.

“Keep me ‘ _company_ ’?” He raises a brow in question.

“Company, as in, we can chat, eat, walk around until six... Not everything I say is a sexual proposition, Byun….”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Unless you want it to be, of course.” Chanyeol drawls. _There’s_ the smile Baekhyun remembers: the evocative one that makes him feel like he’s playing a game that only Chanyeol knows the rules to.

Baekhyun scoffs, too tired to be offended or even upset by the invitation. His eyelids feel heavy and there’s a very good chance he’ll soon join the Passed-Out-on-the-Table Club if he doesn’t find something to distract him. Company…. is not such a bad thing to be offered in a moment like this.

“I’ll take you up on your original proposal then.”

The surprised flare of Chanyeol’s eyes is a bit ridiculous, and his smile all too bright for 3:30 am.

 

They end up leaving the coffee shop not long after. Chanyeol is craving pizza and offers to buy Baekhyun a slice, too (‘ _It’ll sober you up a bit._ ’) and he really can’t say no that. Free pizza and drunkenness go together like beer and spicy ramen.

They eat along the wooden bar of the tiny pizza shop that’s filled with patrons of various levels of sobriety, all either giving into their drunken cravings or attempting to sober up. Chanyeol towers over them all, occasionally placing a hand against the small of Baekhyun’s back, or his forearm to spare him any collisions. Baekhyun doesn’t fight it when Chanyeol squeezes in a little closer to make room for other customers, nor does he miss the way Chanyeol’s hand lingers just a second too long after every touch.

It’s a rather quiet affair, save Chanyeol’s proclamations of his love for pizza and Baekhyun’s curses about the grease accumulating on his fingertips.

Afterwards, they pop into a convenience store, grabbing a soda and beer before seating themselves on a bench at the Hongdae Playground. The buskers and booths have long since cleared out, but the small park is still buzzing with students just like themselves, all wasting time until the sun comes up. Baekhyun grimaces in solidarity towards those who lost the battle of drunken sleepiness and are splayed across benches, snoring and dead to the world.

Chanyeol is being oddly silent once they’re seated, and the lack of stimulation has Baekhyun’s eyelids falling closed against his will.

It’s only 4:05 and he needs to hold out just a little longer.

“Tell me about yourself,” Baekhyun prompts in half desperation, half curiosity. Chanyeol’s voice is deep, demanding his attention even when quiet, and Baekhyun _needs_ something to keep his senses going.

Chanyeol looks thrown off by the statement, mouth opening and closing a few times before his lips purse in a silent question. It’s oddly vulnerable and disorienting. Baekhyun’s never seen the man look so confused, Chanyeol is always so confident on stage.

“Just… talk at me. Make sure I don’t fall asleep,” He says a bit more sternly. Something flashes in Chanyeol’s eyes that he’s too tired to make out before the man nods and gives a cordial smile.

Once Chanyeol begins, he learns that — when he isn’t studying at Hongik or practicing with his band — Chanyeol works part time at Home Plus. Which, apparently, is a prime location for small children to cause a ruckus when their mothers aren’t paying attention. In exchange, Baekhyun tells Chanyeol about his friend and roommate, Kyungsoo — who is perhaps the worst roommate on the planet, second only to his freshman year roommate, Joonmyun. (Complete slob, that one was.)

Baekhyun also learns that Chanyeol laughs in loud barks that startle nearly everyone within a 20 foot radius; shoulders bouncing and eyes twitching manically. At first, Baekhyun’s a little frightened by the boisterous outburst, but soon — blame it on the delirium — he finds himself laughing along. In his sleep-deprived state, their laughs harmonize with one another, creating a silly melody against the rhythm of the taxis on the road and the idle chatter of those around them.

Chanyeol has a way with setting the mood for whoever he’s in the company of, and Baekhyun supposes that’s just part of what being a frontman entails.

The early morning breeze is chilly, and Baekhyun doesn’t want to pull away when Chanyeol wraps an arm around his shoulders. The warmth that instantly courses through his body in its wake refreshes and soothes at the same time. It’s a sweet -- and in his exhausted state, a _dangerous_ \-- comfort to give into. Yet, he leans closer, appreciating the scents of citrus and smoke that Chanyeol exudes.

No one is watching, he can enjoy this moment without prying eyes.

When the sun comes up, Chanyeol walks Baekhyun to the subway station. He makes no move to convince Baekhyun to repeat their last encounter Instead, he smiles nervously, his cheeks glowing a faint red in the morning chill. It’s almost endearing.

“I had a great morning staying awake with you, Byun,” Chanyeol says before chuckling. Baekhyun notices the way the peeking sunlight draws out the red shades of his messy hair. “…. I don’t think I’ve ever said that in this context before.”

Baekhyun isn’t lying when he tells Chanyeol he had a good time, too.

(No one needs to know about the small smile on his lips when Chanyeol hugs him goodbye.)

 

 

 

_There’s another rumor that Baekhyun pushed Chanyeol into a back room last weekend at Club Free Bird. The two were seen emerging half an hour later, hair a mess and Chanyeol’s pants still unbuttoned._

Another weekend, another show in one of the many basement venues Hongdae has to offer. As if by fate, both Chanyeol’s band and Jongdae’s have been booked in the same line-up. Of course, Jongdae drags Baekhyun along with promises of free drinks and a floor to crash on.

It doesn’t take too much convincing though, Baekhyun’s always been a fan of Free Bird. The venue has an ambiance that sets it apart from its counterparts. Sure, it’s still dimly lit, dingy, _and_ in a basement, but the ceilings are high, and the walls lined with stucco that makes it feel more like a Spanish colonial escape from the monotony of Seoul architecture. Not to mention, there's the second level seating with dark booths that are easy to hide one’s self away in to avoid the crowd of the dance floor.

While the venue usually caters to more chill-wave type sets, it’s not uncommon for organizers to book a rock show for a Saturday night. Rock music tends to keep the bar more active, and most importantly — rock frontmen tend to draw in the fangirls. It’s the fangirls that are exactly Baekhyun’s problem as he sips on his rum and coke, watching Jongdae in all his skin-tight jeans and barely-there-shirt glory while he coos into the microphone, eyes half-lidded just the way he knows the audience wants it.

If the man didn’t have damn-near perfect pitch, Baekhyun would liken his vocal styling to pterodactyl mating sounds. But, Jongdae has a way of making it work.

Jongdae's sensual stage presence, though, is not Baekhyun’s problem. His problem is Park Chanyeol. More specifically, Park Chanyeol and Kim Yeri, who are leaning against the wall at stage left, half watching the set, half conversing. She’s smiling up at him with the most adoring of eyes, and Baekhyun almost thinks it’s cute. He’s never been one to be so forward and open with his affections. Instead, he hides them under sarcastic remarks and disinterested grunts.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol haven’t spoken since the night at Hongdae Playground, and initially Baekhyun feels no need to change that fact. Yet, the more he tries to focus on Jongdae’s set, the more his eyes are pulled back to Park Chanyeol. After all, the man towers over the crowd, and his seal-bark laugh is easily distinguished as he laughs too hard at Jongdae’s banter between tracks.

It’s not the fact that Yeri is flirting so openly with Chanyeol —  Baekhyun has no claim on the man — that has him so focused on the pair: it’s the fact that Chanyeol is so… unresponsive to her efforts. Sure, he smiles along, and doesn’t shy away from her subtle touches, but at every opportunity he pushes her attention back to the stage and away from himself.

It baffles Baekhyun.

Why isn’t Chanyeol interested? Chanyeol _should_ be interested, because Yeri is lovely and plays in a kick-ass all girl band that everyone in the scene is proud of. More than anything, Baekhyun wants Chanyeol to be interested because then it would confirm everything Baekhyun wants to think about the man -- every bit of ammo he uses to chase him out of his conscious.

But no, Chanyeol stands there, beer in hand, completely unaffected by the way she hangs off his arm.

Focusing on it too much gives Baekhyun a headache, and he decides to spend the rest of the set watching Jongin’s silly facial expressions as he bangs away on the drums instead. Jongin’s awkward lip bite is always good for a laugh.

It’s only after Jongdae and Chanyeol’s respective sets are finished — and Baekhyun is begrudgingly dragged back down to the main level bar — that Baekhyun spots Chanyeol on the floor again. He’s lost his jacket, and Baekhyun tries not to stare too obviously at the muscles that line his now-exposed arms.

Alas, Jongdae never misses anything.

“So, I was talking to Soojung the other day…” Jongdae says with a tilt to his words, mischievous smile already in place as he plays with the straw between his lips.

“Don’t even finish that thought,” Baekhyun says sternly, which only causes Jongdae’s smirk to widen. Jongdae is one of Baekhyun's closest friends, but he also can't keep his mouth shut, and Baekhyun is not about to feed him any information to go share with Soojung or Amber or whoever the hell he gossips with between classes.

“He’s pretty hot. If raging sex god with nimble fingers is your type.”

"It isn't." Baekhyun says definitively. Of course, at that moment Chanyeol looks over the crowd and their eyes meet, sending a fresh jolt of nerves down his spine.

"Whatever you say..." Jongdae sing-songs, bouncing away into the crowd.

Chanyeol, naturally, reads Jongdae's retreat as an open invitation to approach Baekhyun at the bar. It’s only a moment of solitude before Baekhyun feels a playful brush of fingers against the small of his back.

"Nice to see you here."

Up close, Baekhyun can practically smell the sweat sticking to Chanyeol's exposed arms. It should be gross, but instead it churns Baekhyun's stomach in a different way.

“Your set was very…. aggressive tonight,” Baekhyun muses. He turns, resting his back against the bar and looks out over the crowd.

The side of Chanyeol’s mouth curves up as he sets an elbow on the bar, moving closer. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

"Yeri's interested in you, you know," Baekhyun says before he can stop himself, tilting his chin in Yeri's direction.

"I know."

"And?" Baekhyun looks up.

"And nothing." Chanyeol says matter of factly, which only aggravates Baekhyun more. "She's great, but I'm not interested in her."

"No?" Baekhyun says, much weaker than he intends.

"Nope," Chanyeol emphasizes the 'p,' setting his drink on the bar before crowding closer to Baekhyun. He leans in to whisper, "I've got my eyes set on someone else."

There’s an invitation in the words and Baekhyun knows it. He can feel it in the way that Chanyeol’s breath fans across his cheek. More than the invitation though, there’s something more. Is it genuineness?

Chanyeol's warm breath against his ear is, much like everything else about Chanyeol, infuriating. Yet, there's a telltale tug in his stomach and loathe he to admit it, there's _want_ building inside of him. He hates that it’s so easy to want Chanyeol.

His eyes look anywhere but at Chanyeol in something akin to panic. He locks eyes with Yeri first, who is squinting at the pair curiously. Soojung is at her side, looking on in amusement. He wants to escape, but he also wants…

_Fuck it._

There's a quick meeting of eyes, an unspoken agreement before Baekhyun subtly runs his hand down the skin of Chanyeol's forearm. It feels exactly as he remembered it beneath his fingertips. He knows he's going to regret what he does next, but he can't stop himself from taking Chanyeol by the wrist and pulling him past the bouncer and into the green room. His eyes focus on the floor and not the inquiring eyes of his peers for the entire thirty or so feet it takes to get there.

 

It's messy and rushed and everything Baekhyun wants as Chanyeol pants into his ear, his fingers clawing at the thin fabric of Baekhyun's shirt. A mantra of " _keep going, don’t stop, don’t fucking stop._ " falling from his lips like a prayer as Baekhyun hushes him with quiet giggles against his lips.

Baekhyun throws Chanyeol one last, small smile before exiting the room quickly, leaving Chanyeol to tuck himself back in.

He refuses to meet Chanyeol's gaze once the man returns to the floor area. Though anyone within a thirty foot radius can probably feel the smug satisfaction radiating from the frontman as he stumbles out behind Baekhyun moments later.

Baekhyun swears he hears Jongdae cackle from one of the back booths.

 

Chanyeol returns the favor after last call, tugging Baekhyun behind the back door of the venue and kissing him with fervor. Baekhyun halts Chanyeol's wandering hands before whispering, "let's take this somewhere else."

An hour later, Chanyeol's palms are spread out possessively over Baekhyun's hips, clutching hard enough to leave bruises for days.

 

 

“So you and Park, huh?” Kyungsoo asks without looking up from his phone as Baekhyun wanders out of his room and towards the kitchen.

“Me and who? Park is a very common surname, you’re going to have to be more specific.”

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow, knowing full well the game Baekhyun is playing. “Park Chanyeol. Tall, leggy, perpetually smirking or twitching, fond of taking his shirt off onstage… You know, the one I saw walking out of your room about an hour ago, hair all disheveled looking like he’d had an _interesting_ night.”

“I’ve heard of him. Don’t know what he has to do with me though,” Baekhyun says, gulping down the last of his glass of water before walking past Kyungsoo and back to his bedroom.

“You’re not fooling anyone!” He hears Kyungsoo shouting after he’s already shut his door.

Baekhyun glances at the new contact “Yeol” in his phonebook and wonders how long can he fool himself.

 

 

_Jongdae told Jinri that Chanyeol has been texting Baekhyun non-stop for weeks._

 

It’s a simple routine of push and pull.

Chanyeol pushes Baekhyun’s buttons: Baekhyun pulls him away from the crowds and into a bed. (Never the back seats, corners, and bathroom stalls that Soojung and Kibum are so fond of gossiping about. Save that one time.)

In private, they lick, nip, and bite their frustrations into each other’s skin. Chanyeol never apologizes for being rough, and Baekhyun wouldn’t want him to. Instead, Chanyeol delicately kisses the top of his head in the afterglow when he thinks Baekhyun won’t notice.

In public, Baekhyun pretends they are strangers. He can see the eagerness in their acquaintances’ eyes as they wait for Chanyeol’s name to fall from his tongue, but Baekhyun gives no tells. Perhaps the mystery of what exactly goes on between Chanyeol and Baekhyun fuels the rumors all the more.

It’s no secret to Baekhyun that he’s terrified of the implications. It's almost as hard to dig yourself out the rumor mill as it is to get over the heartbreak that generally goes with falling into it.

Behind closed doors, Chanyeol tries to push himself into Baekhyun’s heart while Baekhyun makes futile attempts to pull himself away.

 

 

Jongdae and Baekhyun are tucked away in the back corner of their favorite coffee shop — the one that serves milkshakes that have magical hangover-curing properties. The place is never too busy, which makes it ideal for crammed study sessions. The quiet, un-busy atmosphere relieves a bit of the stresses of student life and Hanyang, if only for a few hours. (Well, save the frequent visits by their classmate, Luhan, who has the most obvious of crushes on the barista Minseok and makes it a point to pop in and laugh exaggeratedly at everything he says.)

They’re in the middle of alternating practice questions for their upcoming biology exam when Jongdae finally speaks up about Baekhyun’s constantly vibrating cell phone.

“Dear God, _who_ is texting you like crazy. Is someone’s house on fire?”

“Oh,” Baekhyun looks up from his book and picks up his phone, turning it to silent. “It’s no one.”

“No one, my ass,” Jongdae says before plucking the phone from the table. Baekhyun watches as his eyes widen after he turns the lock screen on. _Fuck_. “ _’Yeol?’_ As in, Park Chanyeol?”

Baekhyun shrugs to the best of his ability, since there’s no point in lying. Chanyeol has been texting him nearly non-stop since the night at Free Bird three weeks before. He messages about everything: his own midterms, band practice, his Homeplus coworkers, Sehun’s crush on Soojung... all of it.

“We exchanged numbers after a show. He’s unexpectedly chatty sometimes. I have no clue why.”

Jongdae throws Baekhyun an incredulous look before rolling his eyes. “He’s courting you, you idiot.”

Baekhyun is struck by the statement, his mouth hanging open for a moment before he manages a nervous laugh.

“Don’t be stupid.”

Jongdae rolls his eyes one final time before passing the phone back to Baekhyun.

 

**From: Yeol**  
How’s the biology studying going?

**From: Yeol**  
Will you be around Saturday? We’re playing Bbang!

**From: Yeol**  
I just saw the weirdest ahjussi on the train. We’re talking like, mullet and zoot suit strange.

**From: Yeol**  
With a cane!!

**From: Yeol**  
You’re probably busy. I’ll stop annoying you. Fighting!!

 

 

_Everyone is talking about how Chanyeol is going to break Baekhyun’s heart._

In all honesty, Baekhyun doesn’t know how to deal with being ‘courted’ by Park Chanyeol. Especially after all the rumors that already surround the infamous singer. Though Baekhyun enjoys being on stage more than almost anything, he never has been one for the meddling attentions of others — especially when that attention comes in the form of hushed whispers and judgmental (sometimes envious) glances.

Even if the rumors have some ground in truth, Baekhyun begins to contemplate how the rumors he’d heard before match up with the Park Chanyeol whose apartment — and bed — he’s been a guest in several times over the past few weeks.

He muses how the Park Chanyeol of Hongdae lore can be the same man who trips over his own underwear in excitement every time they undress each other. The man who stubs his toe on the _same fucking bedpost_ each morning after like some uncoordinated kindergartener….

(Baekhyun calls him an idiot every time, laughing from his tangled position in the sheets. Chanyeol pouts for only a second before lunging at Baekhyun and tickling an apology out of him.)

This is also the same Chanyeol who comes undone with a few hushed whispers and a bite to his ear. The man who traces lackadaisical patterns along Baekhyun’s hipbones before strumming now-familiar chords along his rib cage in the afterglow.

It’s a terrifying dichotomy. Especially because all forms of Chanyeol only make Baekhyun want _more._

 

 

_Chanyeol showed up last week for Baekhyun’s gig at Strange Fruit. Sooyoung said that Chanyeol didn’t look happy when Seohyun chatted up Baekhyun after the set. Chanyeol left first, but Baekhyun followed not five minutes later._

 

Strange Fruit has always been one of Baekhyun’s favorite places to perform. It’s small, intimate, and ideal for acoustic sets. Hundreds of CD’s line the back wall behind the sound guy who always seems to be munching on some kind of produce. The place can’t be more than 500 square feet, and it’s rarely packed to capacity, but Baekhyun doesn’t mind in the least; mostly because there’s never a rowdy crowd — or the fear of drunk hecklers ruining your set. The only people who go to Strange Fruit are those who are able to find it and actually _want_ to be there.

Baekhyun doesn’t know what to make of seeing Chanyeol leaning casually against the bar as he adjusts his guitar strap to the side of the stage. Strange Fruit is too small for someone as lanky as Chanyeol; too compact for his uncoordinated movements. He stands out like a sore thumb with his bright red hoodie and snapback.

There’s a glint in Chanyeol’s eyes as he watches Baekhyun take the stage that Baekhyun doesn’t want to catch. Yet, he _feels_ it none the less, causing him to trip over the PA chord and into the stool before he catches himself.

As he plays his way through his set, his eyes continuously fall on the man who makes no attempt to look away. It’s unnerving in every way, but the rush pushes Baekhyun to strum harder, defiantly.

Chanyeol’s looking at Baekhyun like he’s…. _something_. Something Baekhyun can’t put into words but he can feel it in his gut, on the tip of his fingers as he strums the chords. He senses the eyes of the crowd moving between him and Chanyeol, but Chanyeol’s gaze never falters. If anything, he takes the hushed whispers like a challenge, lips quirked as Baekhyun stubbornly plays on.

 

He’s not sure what happens after his set. One minute he’s at the bar — pointedly ignoring Chanyeol as usual — the next he looks over Seohyun’s shoulder to see Chanyeol’s retreating figure in the small crowd. His feet follow before his brain can catch up with him.

 

There’s a different intensity in Chanyeol’s gaze that night. A feeble -- but assured -- plea when he asks Baekhyun to roll the condom on. As Baekhyun rocks into him he feels a desperation in the way Chanyeol tugs him down so their lips can meet; a possessiveness in the way Chanyeol’s hands grip at Baekhyun’s hips, reach for his hand, the way he bites at Baekhyun's lips.

It _means something_ , Baekhyun knows. Perhaps that’s what scares him the most.

 

 

“This is so fucking ridiculous,” Chanyeol breathes into the sheets as he begins to stir in the morning. The heel of his foot bumps into Baekhyun’s calf causing him to groan. He’s already been awake for the past half-hour, staring at the ceiling and praying this conversation won’t happen — no matter how inevitable he knows it is.

“What is?” He plays dumb, shutting himself off and shying away from Chanyeol’s lips against his shoulder.

Chanyeol reaches up to gently pull Baekhyun’s face to look at him. If Baekhyun didn’t know better, he would think Chanyeol’s eyes are pleading with him. “ _Us_. This. Sneaking around for no reason.”

“It’s no one’s business who I fuck in my free time,” Baekhyun says. The curt words surprising even himself as he rolls away from Chanyeol, knowingly placing an invisible wall between them. “It doesn’t matter anyway, we’re just fooling around right?”

A part of him wants to hear Chanyeol deny the claim, while another part wishes he’d never raised the question in the first place. The silence that falls between them is worse than any whispers of his own name that he’s heard from the stage.

“Right.” Chanyeol mutters to himself moments later, raising himself from the bed. Baekhyun pretends not to hear the crack in Chanyeol’s voice, or see the dejected slump of his shoulders as he locates his boxers and pulls them up his legs.

Chanyeol doesn’t say another word as he dresses himself — the tension in the air palpable between them.

He offers no goodbye as he walks out of Baekhyun’s room either.

 

 

 

_Word on the street is that Byun Baekhyun broke_ The _Park Chanyeol’s heart. No one saw that coming._

 

“You’re checking your phone every three minutes, what’s up with you?” Kyungsoo observes from across the table.

Baekhyun shakes his head dismissively. “Nothing. Just… checking.”

“Haven’t seen Chanyeol sneaking out of your room at all this week…” Kyungsoo muses before he turns his attention back to his sociology textbook.

 

 

Leave it to Jongdae to make sure Baekhyun is back at Free Bird the same night Chanyeol's band is set to play. He’d promised him tame night out, and so far he’s kept his promise, but the second Baekhyun reads Chanyeol’s band’s name on the board at the entrance, he wants to escape.

“Is there a problem?” Jongdae asks, noticing the way Baekhyun suddenly tenses at the door. It’s a playful challenge, and Baekhyun knows it.

“No, why would there be?”

 

 

Thankfully, Chanyeol’s band is already on their final song by the time Baekhyun and Jongdae wander to the floor.

Unfortunately, after they've got their drinks, Jongdae immediately leads them towards the group of various band members who played that evening and are discussing their sets. They’re chatting away animatedly, and Baekhyun recognizes all of them. Jongdae jumps right into the conversation, while Baekhyun does his best to not notice the way Jongin’s eyes dart between himself and Chanyeol.

Chanyeol, of course, is there in all his sweaty, post-set glory, laughing along with whatever Jonghyun says. He’s sporting the same smile Baekhyun recognizes from the first time they talked, the one he used when he looked so intrigued by every word that fell from his mouth. Only now, that smile is directed towards Jonghyun and his teasing assessment of the bands’ respective sets.

“You’re awful quiet tonight, Baekhyun,” Jonghyun jabs playfully minutes later, completely missing the tension that surrounds the group. He has a few drinks in him, Baekhyun can tell. “A night isn’t complete without one of your critiques. No commentary on how you’d like to show Chanyeol how to actually play a Gibson while he’s making sex noises into the microphone?”

Baekhyun’s eyes flicker towards Chanyeol, who is staring at Jonghyun with warning.

Jonghyun laughs, “I guess the rumors about you putting Chanyeol in his place aren’t true then.”

“That’s our Baekhyun,” Jongdae chuckles fondly, when Baekhyun fails to respond. He pats Baekhyun a little too hard on the shoulder, making Baekhyun grimace. “All snark, no bite.”

“I wouldn’t be sure about the biting.” Chanyeol says under his breath, refusing to meet Baekhyun’s eyes.

Jongdae pretends to be scandalized in an attempt to fight the awkward atmosphere, but it’s no use. Soon, he excuses himself, muttering something about stopping Jongin from making too many bad decisions (everyone knows that’s a lie, because Jongdae is always the number one advocate of stupid decisions).

Chanyeol disappears with his bassist, without so much as a wave goodbye, and Baekhyun is left alone. Not that he really minds.

So, Baekhyun lingers around for a bit. He catches up with Luhan at the bar. Apparently he’s managed to finally snag a date with Minseok — with the stipulation that he stop scaring off customers with his ‘crazy laugh’ every afternoon. After, he watches Jongin definitely make a few bad decisions at the far end of the bar (Jongdae egging him on all the while, that little liar.)

“I was disappointed you weren’t playing tonight,” Baekhyun hears over his shoulder. He turns and finds himself face to chest with Oh Sehun. “I’ve always been a fan of your sets, you have a great voice.”

Like just about everyone else in the small scene, Baekhyun knows Sehun to be the friend and bandmate of none other than Chanyeol. They’ve never talked before, but in their circle, everyone is familiar with one another.

“I’m playing next week, so maybe you’ll see me then,” Baekhyun responds hesitantly. Why has Sehun suddenly decided to make small talk with him?

Sehun nods in acknowledgment before leaning over the bar and ordering another beer.

“You know, I’ve known Park for a long time and I can tell you that Chanyeol on stage and Chanyeol in real life are two very different people,” He says as nonchalantly as if he’s discussing the weather. Baekhyun muses if Sehun always talks in such a deadpan fashion. If so, he and Kyungsoo would probably get along.

“What’s your point?” Baekhyun asks, defenses rising, but realizing all too late that he’s already shown more interest than he should have.

Sehun’s lips twitch into a small smile. “My point is: sex sells. Chanyeol knows it. He walks like a God on stage because that’s the fantasy everyone has of him. But tell me, have you ever seen him actually try to pick anyone up?”

Baekhyun remains silent, letting his mind wander to the time he watched Chanyeol and Yeri from across the room.

“What I’m really getting at is, perhaps Chanyeol noticed you long before you think he did. And maybe he went about it in the most idiotic way possible, but _he_ wasn’t the one who wanted to keep _you_ his dirty little secret.”

He throws Baekhyun one final glance and a terse tug of his lips before he disappears back into the crowd.

 

 

A week of silence. Baekhyun doesn’t realize how much time messing around with Park Chanyeol took up until he’s left alone with his thoughts.

Words — _feelings_ — have never been his strong suit, but with music sheets in front of him, he can somehow manage to translate semblances of his inner workings into something tangible. He’s always been drawn to memories and moments. No matter how uncomfortable, he wants to capture them. In a way, putting his memories into music is the only way to make sense of anything.

So, he spends his free time holed up in his room, guitar on his lap and song notebook open with messy scribbles. It’s like second nature, the daze that comes with the rush of converting memories to melodies. Yet, that doesn’t make it any less frustrating as the only memories that come to him all center around the same person.

There’s hesitant glee at first, flashes of Chanyeol approaching him at the bar the first night -- The way he’d smiled so widely at each of Baekhyun’s sarcastic remarks, never deterred. He feels the butterflies in his stomach as he watched Chanyeol’s adam’s apple bob with each gulp of his beer. He sees flashes of the way Chanyeol had licked his lips; he senses the muscles pulling in his stomach at wondering why he was so affected. His nerves come to life the same way his eyes had darted around the crowd, taking in all the envious stares directed his way.

But Chanyeol never looked at him like he was something to be eaten up and tossed away. There _was_ lust in those first few exchanges of mundane musical commentary, but there was also a spark in Chanyeol’s eyes; a bright reaction to each and every word that Baekhyun said that pulled him in closer. There was a hand to his back, a brush of fingers along his forearm….

His pencil pauses on the sheet when he realizes how enamored he might have been that first night, no matter how much he wrote it off as lust -- and that’s where it all began.

His fingers dance along the strings of his guitar as he remembers the gleeful anguish in the pit of his stomach when Chanyeol tickled his neck, ran his bulky fingers through his hair. There’s tension in the staccato chords when he remembers the overheard whispers. A few hesitant strums as he recalls the scent of Chanyeol’s skin and the way his own hands had gripped so tightly in private, but never reached out in front of others. And then, there’s warmth in the laughter shared beneath the sheets, sweeter tones that tease the same way Chanyeol tickled Baekhyun’s calf with his toes in his sleep.

 

Baekhyun only realizes what kind of song he’s written after all the notes and lyrics are on the page. Then everything hits him, but it’s too late to take it back now.

 

 

_Apparently, Baekhyun and Chanyeol are booked for the same night at Bbang this weekend. Jongdae thinks it was done on purpose to draw a bigger crowd._

After reliving all his intimate moments with the frontman, watching Chanyeol’s set is torture.

Baekhyun so badly wants to disappear back up the staircase or mind his time in the green room on the first floor, but he also feels the plaguing need to save face. So, he stands in the back of the venue, looking on as fans swoon at Chanyeol’s grunted moans into the microphone. He watches the man’s fingers dance along his guitar and tries not to think about the way those same fingers had felt woven through his hair, digging into his thighs.

If Chanyeol spots him in the audience, he gives no indication. Instead, Baekhyun is left with the worried attention of Jongdae, who keeps inviting Baekhyun upstairs for some fresh air. Baekhyun refuses each time, knowing that people are watching and he’s not about to give them satisfaction of seeing him run away.

It’s 11pm when Baekhyun finally takes the stage.

“This is a new song, and it doesn’t have a title yet. It’s a little different from my usual stuff, but I hope you’ll still like it,” Baekhyun’s nerves betray him as his hand shakes, gripping his pick. He draws a deep breath and begins the intro chords.

For the first time in his life, Baekhyun feels naked on stage. This song isn’t one about the emptiness of winter or getting drunk by the Han river. Instead, it’s one about stubbed toes and calloused hands — all set to the rhythm of a heartbeat he’s grown too familiar with. He knows half the verses don’t quite rhyme and the notes are still shaky with unfamiliarity, but he hopes the emotions behind each word can overcome a few musical shortcomings.

This is Baekhyun laying all his cards out, and he hopes to God that the intended recipient is still in the audience tonight. Because Baekhyun doesn’t tell his secrets to anyone, much less a semi-crowded venue of familiar faces.

As the final chords ring out, Baekhyun chances a scan of the audience. Bbang isn’t large enough to obscure many faces. As he eyes the crowd he can see Jongdae at the bar, staring at him with a mix of empathy and worry. He grimaces when he spots Soojung and Amber whispering to each other along the back benches. His stomach drops when his eyes land on the one audience member he’s looking for.

He tries to hide the sinking of his heart with a smile as he watches Chanyeol’s back heading towards the exit.

 

He stumbles out into the cool Hongdae evening an hour later, eyes half focused on the wet pavement of the main entrance. He shouldn’t have let Luhan by him that damn shot — but his little heartbreak needed some consolation. He’s done the one thing he said he’d never do. Hell, he practically confessed everything right there and that stage and fucking Park Chanyeol didn’t even have the decency to meet his eyes.

It hurts.

 

He makes it out to the street, wallowing in self pity, but resolved to put the whole thing behind him after tonight. That is, until he hears a low chuckle and his eyes land on a familiar pair of bow legs, clad in ripped jeans, and and equally familiar set of boots with the laces undone. His eyes trace up the body to meet the face he’d been imagining his entire set.

They meet eyes and Chanyeol smirks, exhaling a plume of smoke before passing the cigarette to Baekhyun.

“That last one sounded an awful lot like a love song,” Chanyeol offers after a few beats of tense silence.

“I don’t write love songs,” he says, passing the cigarette back. There’s no bite to the words. He blames his shaking knees on the chill and not his own nerves.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Chanyeol says, smirk being replaced with a much more modest smile as he scratches his neck. “I was especially fond of the ‘ _stubbing your toe on my heart_ ’ metaphor. A little juvenile, but clever. I’m flattered.”

Chanyeol laughs again. Baekhyun feels relief wash over him as warmth floods his cheeks. He meets Chanyeol’s gaze head on, defaintly.

“Who says that song was about you?”

Chanyeol ignores the question, lips pursed confidently, _knowingly_. Baekhyun, for the first time, is willing to admit that he’s missed the way Chanyeol looks at him.

“You in the mood for pizza?” Chanyeol asks, tossing the cigarette on the ground and reaching out his free hand for Baekhyun to take.

He’s offering more than his hand, and Baekhyun knows it.

He takes the hand and the unspoken agreement — acknowledgement — it entails. Chanyeol’s hand is warm, just like the way he smiles to himself as he leads Baekhyun down the crowded Hongdae street.

 

**From: Kyungsoo**  
Jongin saw you kissing Park Chanyeol outside of Sincheon station. Congrats on not being an idiot.

 

 

_The biggest rumor of all is that Byun Baekhyun is in love with Park Chanyeol._

_and maybe there’s a bit of truth to that rumor._

_but it’s not really anyone’s fucking business._   


* * *


End file.
